Unknown Territory
by DustfingersChica
Summary: When Scabior and his group of Snatchers are sent to a different area to do their job, weird things start happening. Small things at first, but then it turns serious. The worst part is, they can't seem to leave or find their way out.


**Disclaimer: Don't own nothing.**

They had been walking all day. Him and his team were sent to the Northern part of England that week to search for Mudbloods, blood traitors, and other 'criminals.' The word made Scabior chuckle, for he knew the real criminals, the bad guys, were the ones who worked on the Dark Lord's side, like himself. Yet, he didn't let that bother him or stop him from doing his job. He was a criminal even before the Dark Lord's return. Stealing, getting into fights, and other small things of that sort. The man had never killed another before, but he has tortured, numerous times after he took on the job as a Snatcher and once before, which was the reason he spent time in Azkaban Prison for a few years.

"How much longer are we gonna keep goin', boss?" Scabior kept walking as one of his team members spoke. "We've been walkin' for ages and haven't seen a livin' thing."

"Nonsense," Scabior replied from up ahead. "Open your eyes, there's livin' things all 'round." He gestured to the nature surrounding them.

"I think what Dalton meant, Boss, was we haven't seen a person since we Apparated here."

Scabior rolled his eyes and looked back at the other Snatcher. "Yes, Cole, I realized wot 'e meant. We'll keep walkin' 'til dark then set up camp, and in the mornin' we can report back to the Ministry."

Dalton and Cole both nodded simultaneously. The leader of the group resumed walking. He could call himself 'leader,' but he had to share the title, not that he wanted to. He always referred to Fenrir Greyback, the infamous werewolf, second-in-command rather than leader, even if Greyback was assigned leader before him. He glanced at the werewolf walking a few meters to his left. Normally the beast would argue about Scabior's orders, leading to a duel or fist fight between the two. Only once had the fight gotten so bad that three other team members had to jump in. Scabior hated to admit it, but they were pulling Greyback off of him instead of the other way around.

"_What?_" Greyback growled when he caught Scabior's gaze coming his way.

Scabior shrugged nonchalantly. "Thought you might wanted ta put yer two sickles in."

"Another time I would," Greyback informed him, "but I'm sore and worn out from last night."

"Oh, right. It was your time of the month." The werewolf replied with another growl.

The group made sure Greyback was far away from them when it was the Full Moon. He never objected. He would locate a small village and wait on the outskirts of it until he transformed. It was no secret that he enjoyed killing people or turning them into werewolves as well. He killed more adults, only biting the children to raise and teach them his ways of living. Greyback didn't hesitate or stutter when he told the Snatcher group their first night together that he used to capture village children and keep them imprisoned in caves and such until he could change them. Whether it was out of fear or caution or a little bit of both, the stories Greyback told was enough for them to make sure he was nowhere near the area they were in one time each month.

The crunching of dead leaves and grass underneath their boots was the only noise around. Dalton had commented earlier that these woods were different, and Scabior had to agree. Everything was dead. All the leaves on the trees were on the ground, brown and dried up. Tree limbs were exposed, allowing easier view of the partially cloudy sky. It seemed like all the animals were dead too, since there wasn't even an occasional chirp of a bird. Other places they've been to had birds, rabbits, and other wildlife inhabitants that would run away from their approach or watch curiously as they passed. The trees were green and very much alive, unlike this place.

They walked on and continued seeing nothing or no one. It started getting dark fairly quickly, so Scabior told the others to setup camp. There were five other Snatchers; Dalton, Cole, Cleland, Ross, and Gavin. Dalton was Scabior's best mate, even though he told all of them at one point that they were his best.

"I'm goin' ta put up the wards," Scabior announced while they were enlarging the tents with their wands. He concentrated on saying the incantation and briefly saw the barrier appear before going invisible. He repeated his actions as he made his way in a big circle around the campsite. When he finished, everything was set up and a fire was going. "Wot's for dinner then?" he asked as he made his way over to where they were standing and sitting by the fire.

"We still have some bacon left from yesterday," Ross spoke up. "We can put that on some bread."

"That'll be fine." Ross nodded and stood to go retrieve the food from one of the tents. None of them really liked the food they had, but it was all they had until they went to a town. Even then they were still limited on what they could purchase.

The rest of them made theirselves comfortable on the ground. Greyback had opened his mouth, probably to complain that he would need more than a piece of bacon on a slice of bread to keep him satisfied, when he was cut off by a loud thump in the woods. They all shot out of their seats with their wands drawn and pointed them in the direction the sound came from.

"What was that?" Gavin asked, squinting to try and see. It wasn't completely dark, but it wasn't bright enough to see anything except for the dark shadows of trees.

"Sounded like a tree fell." Greyback scanned the woods, but even he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary with his sharper eyesight.

Scabior nodded. "That's prob'ly wot it was." He didn't see anything either. His eyes weren't as sharp as Greyback's, but they were better than the rest. He put away his wand as did the others. They were just going to sit down when the same sound happened again. Wands were redrawn in an instant.

"Another tree?" Gavin said in a disbelieving tone.

"Possibly," said Scabior slowly.

"Does anyone want cheese on their sandwiches?"

All eyes glared at Ross and there was a chorus of "_Shut it!_"

"There's a noise out there," Cole informed the confused man and pointed out into the trees. Ross's lips formed a quiet "Oh" and he took out his wand as well.

None of them said a word and eventually the sound came again, the same way the previous ones had.

"I don't think those are trees," Dalton said quietly from his spot next to Scabior. "Wouldn't we hear limbs breakin'?"

Scabior kept quiet and Gavin voiced the question he'd been thinking. "Then what the hell is it?"

"Go check it out."

"_You _go check it out."

"I was speakin' ta Greyback."

Greyback looked over at Scabior for a brief moment before turning back to the woods. "Since you lot are a bunch of cowards," he mumbled before walking forward. "One of you stay on the outside of the wards." He stepped through the barrier and lit his wand before continuing on into the darkness. Cleland stood right outside the invisible wards so Greyback would see him when he came back.

Five minutes passed and it seemed as if the noise had ceased. Everything was quiet. Gavin and Cole were sitting down on the ground, but Scabior and Dalton remained standing by the fire. Cleland was now squatting but was still alert.

"What do you reckon that was?" Dalton asked.

"Dunno," Scabior said, "but wha'ever it was it looks ta be gone n-" A howl pierced the night. It was loud and sudden, making Scabior and the others wince slightly. When the howl ended Scabior smirked. "Definitely gone now. See, there's a use for the doggie after all."

"Maybe he got to see what it was."

"'Oo cares wot it was as long as it's gone?" Scabior said to Dalton then turned towards Ross. "Finish makin' those sandwiches, would ya? I'm starvin'." Ross nodded and returned to the tent he was in earlier.

The group was halfway finished with their bacon and cheese sandwiches when Greyback came into view. He saw Cleland wave a hand and made his way over.

"So did ya find anythin'?" Scabior inquired as soon as he was back inside the wards. The Snatchers gathered around the werewolf.

"Nothing," Greyback reported. "I couldn't even pick up a scent."

Scabior frowned. "Nothin', eh?"

"Nope."

Despite what he said, Scabior _was _curious about what was making that noise. Dalton was right; it wasn't trees falling. They would've heard the limbs snapping and breaking against other trees and the ground. Plus, what would make trees fall like that? There was barely any wind.

After a couple seconds of thinking, Scabior shrugged and said, "Well, wotever it was, you more than likely scared it off with your loud whine." He chuckled. "We left you a piece of bacon if you're still 'ungry." The man made to make for his tent, but saw Greyback shake his head.

"That wasn't me."

Scabior stared at him, not realizing his mouth was hanging open a bit. "Wot?"

"The howl," Greyback said calmly. "That wasn't me." He pushed past the Snatchers and entered the middle tent.

Following him Scabior said, "Wot ya mean that wasn't-?"

Greyback turned back to him. "How else do you want me to say it?" he snapped. "I didn't make any noise out there." Scabior frowned.

"Then who was it that howled?" Greyback and Scabior looked at the tent entrance to find the rest of the group there.

"I don't know," Greyback answered, "but whoever it was could be lurking around right outside our camp and none of you are out there keeping watch."

They all looked at each other before quickly stepping back out of the tent.

"Sooo…." Scabior started as Greyback grabbed the last sandwich off a plate. "Could it 'ave been a regular ol' wolf?"

"Didn't sound like a wolf I've ever heard." He took a bite before continuing. "It was too high pitched and lasted longer."

Scabior thought for a moment before saying, "Nothin' we can do 'bout it. We'll be leavin' in the mornin' anyway. Cole said 'e'll keep second watch if ya wanna take firs'."

"Okay," Greyback said and finished his sandwich.

None of them heard another sound the rest of the night. As Scabior drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but thinking it was quite peaceful.

**A/N: So not much going on yet, but there's more stuff to come that'll have the Snatchers quite baffled. I got this idea after thinking about the Blair Witch movie, but know that the Blair Witch is NOT going to be in here. **

**Tell me what ya think about it so far, love it or hate it. What do you think the noises are and who/what's making them?**

**R&R!**


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